BBEAK IN THE RANGES. 329 



mountains of Capadare, Porto Cabello, and the Villa de 

 Cura. It may be said to form the eastern wall of that vast 

 circular depression of which the lake of Maracaybo is the 

 centre and which is bounded on the south and west by the 

 mountains of Merida, Ocana, Perija, and Santa M'arta. 



The littoral chain of Venezuela presents towards the 

 centre, and the east, the same phenomena of structure as 

 those observed in the Andes of Peru and New Grenada ; 

 namely, the division into several parallel ranges, and the 

 frequency of longitudinal basins or vallies. But the irrup- 

 tions of the Caribbean Sea having apparently overwhelmed, 

 at a very remote period, a part of the mountains of the 

 shore, the ranges or partial chains are interrupted, and some 

 basins have become oceanic gulfs. To comprehend the 

 Cordillera of Venezuela in mass, we must carefully study 

 the direction and windings of the coast from Punta Tucacaa 

 (west of Porto Cabello), as far as Punta de la Galera of the 

 island of Trinidad. That island, those of Los Testigos, 

 Marguerite, and Tortuga, constitute, with the mica-slates of 

 the peninsula of Araya, one and the same system of moun- 

 tains. The granitic rocks which appear between Buria, 

 Duaca, and Aroa, cross the valley of the Rio Taracui, and 

 draw near the shore, whence they extend, like a continuous 

 wall, from Porto Cabello to Cape Codera. This prolongation 

 forms the northern chain of the Cordi^era of Venezuela, 

 and is traversed in going from south to north, either from 

 Valencia and the vallies of Aragua, to Burburata and 

 Turiamo, or from Caracas to La Guayra. Hot springs* 



* The other hot springs of the Cordillera of the shore, are those of 

 S. Juan, Provisor, Brigantin, the gulf of Cariaco, Cumucatar, and Irapa. 

 MM. Rivero and Boussingault, who visited the thermal waters of Maiiara 

 in February, 1823, during their journey from Caracas to Santa Fe de 

 Bogota, found their maximum to be 64 cent. I found it at the same 

 season, only 59'2. Has the great earthquake of the 26th March, 1812, 

 had an influence on the temperature of these springs ? The able chemistf 

 above mentioned were, like myself, struck with the extreme purity 

 of the hot waters that issue from the primitive rocks of the basin of 

 Aragua. Those of Onoto, which flow at the height of 360 toises above 

 the level of the sea, have no smell of sulphuretted hydrogen ; they are 

 without taste, and cannot be precipitated, either by nitrate of silver or 

 any other re-agent. When evaporated, they have an inappreciable residue, 

 which consists of a little silica and a trace of alkali; their temperature vs 



